For the little chef

Beth at Project:Project is a veritable font of knowledge when it comes to high quality handmade play things.  Her blog and amazing Etsy shop, Lemon Cadet, have been featured in all sorts of magazines and a variety of websites.  I mean the girl makes her own miniature furniture!  So when she asked me to participate in her Play Eats feature, I was kind of stoked.  I actually had an idea in my head for a few months, so when she emailed me, it took me no time at all to reply I had the perfect thing:  pots and pans.  I did a search and came up with nothing in the way of handmade fabric cookware for play.  Don’t you think that’s a shame? 

Using some scraps and button covers, I whipped up a stock pot and sauté pan for my boys.  And I kind of think they turned out adorable. 

And my kids seemed to like them, too. 

 
They each have a lid with an easy to grab knobby handle

The sauté pan has a long handle off to one side

And the stockpot has two handles, one on each side, making them even more like the real thing


And of course, a non-stick coating on the inside for all those hard-to clean messes

The plastic canvas makes them sturdy, so they will hold whatever your chef stuffs inside, and still keep their shape.
So let’s make some pots and pans! Click the pots for the tutorial (or, you know, “read more”).

 

You’ll need
Plastic canvas
Lining, I used a cheap polyester
Outer material, I used corduroy
Cover button kit

First, we’ll make the knobs for the lids
This is what a cover button kit looks like.  You can get them at any fabric store in the notions section.  I used a 1 1/8 inch size.
Using the template on the cover packaging, cut a circle out of the lining material

Place the fabric circle in the rubber setter, then the smooth top of the button cover on top of that, press into the rubber setter


Fold up all the excess fabric that is all over the edges

Place the back of the button on top of that

Put the plastic plunger thing on top and press until you hear/feel a snap

And you have a covered button cum pot lid handle.  Set aside for now

Now we cut the pieces for the actual pots
For the stockpot:
18” by 4 inch plastic canvas strip
6” diameter plastic canvas circle 
Two 7” diameter circles of the lining and two of the outer fabric
19” by 5” strip of the lining and the outer
Two 4” by 5” strips of lining
For the sauté pan:
16” by 2 inch plastic canvas strip
5” diameter plastic canvas circle
Two 6” diameter circles of both the lining and the outer fabric
7” by 3” strip of lining
4” by 1.5 inch strip of plastic canvas

Now let’s work on the handles for the sides of the pots.
For the stock pot, lay your handle pieces out. 
Fold in half along their lengths, right sides together.


Sew along the long side.  I also sewed one end, leaving the other end open, but you can leave both ends open and have it all work out the same in the end.

Trim the seam allowance and clip corner, if you sewed one end

Turn

Measure out from the center of your long outer material piece to find where you want the side handles to go on the stock pot.

Fold the end[s] of the handles in

And pin to the outer pot fabric

Do this for both handles

Using a zig-zag stitch, sew the handles at either short end in place on the outer fabric
For the sauté pan handle
Take the handle piece of fabric

And fold along the length, right sides together

Sew down the length and one of the short ends, leaving the other short end open for turning

Clip the corner and trim seam allowance, turn to right side

Insert the plastic canvas piece into the opening

Fold the raw edge under and sew to the middle of the sauté pan outer fabric


Now we’ll make the outer pots.  For both type:
Fold the long outer fabric strip right sides together along the length

Sew up the side seam

With things still wrong side out, pin the outer fabric circle to the bottom edge.  You may have to trim the circle down a little to fit
Sew the circle bottom of the pot in place all around the entire circle

Turn right side out

Now, do the exact same thing with the lining, only USE A BASTING STITCH for the SIDE SEAM.  The bottom circle still gets attached with a regular stitch.  Just the side seam gets the basting stitch


Place the right-side-out outer pot into the wrong-side-out lining pot, matching side seams

Sew the top raw edge together, all the way around

Using a seam ripper, unpick the basting stitch of the side seam on the lining

And turn the whole thing right side out through the opening you just made

Take your long plastic canvas.  Measure it, rolled, against your pot to see how big you want the plastic canvas rolled to.  It should be the same diameter as the finished pot.  Use a zig-zag stitch on your machine (or sew by hand) the plastic canvas into a tube

Push the tube through the opening in the lining of the pot

Fold the unfinished edges of the lining side seam in

And stitch closed

Push the lining down into the pot

And top stitch all around the top edge

So now we just have the lid to finish

Right sides together, lay your lining circle on top of the outer circle

Sew all around the curve, except for a two-inch opening

Trim the excess and clip the curve

Turn

Push the plastic canvas through the opening

Lay the plastic canvas flat inside

And fold the opening in

Top stitching all round

And then just sew that covered button/lid handle to the top center of the lid

Mmmm, fabricy!